§ 163-166.4. Limitation on
activity in the voting place and in a buffer zone around it.

(a) Buffer Zone. - No
person or group of persons shall hinder access, harass others, distribute
campaign literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise
engage in election-related activity in the voting place or in a buffer zone
which shall be prescribed by the county board of elections around the voting
place. In determining the dimensions of that buffer zone for each voting place,
the county board of elections shall, where practical, set the limit at 50 feet
from the door of entrance to the voting place, measured when that door is
closed, but in no event shall it set the limit at more than 50 feet or at less
than 25 feet.

(a1) Area for Election-Related
Activity. - Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the county
board of elections shall also provide an area adjacent to the buffer zone for
each voting place in which persons or groups of persons may distribute campaign
literature, place political advertising, solicit votes, or otherwise engage in
election-related activity.

(b) Special Agreements
About Election-Related Activity. - The Executive Director of the State Board of
Elections may grant special permission for a county board of elections to enter
into an agreement with the owners or managers of a nonpublic building to use
the building as a voting place on the condition that election-related activity
as described in subsection (a1) of this section not be permitted on their
property adjacent to the buffer zone, if the Executive Director finds all of
the following:

(1) That no other
suitable voting place can be secured for the precinct.

(2) That the county
board will require the chief judge of the precinct to monitor the grounds
around the voting place to ensure that the restriction on election-related
activity shall apply to all candidates and parties equally.

(3) That the pattern of
voting places subject to agreements under this subsection does not
disproportionately favor any party, racial or ethnic group, or candidate.

An agreement under this
subsection shall be valid for as long as the nonpublic building is used as a
voting place.

(c) Notice About Buffer
Zone and Area for Election-Related Activity. - No later than 30 days before each
election, the county board of elections shall make available to the public the
following information concerning each voting place:

(1) The door from which
the buffer zone is measured.

(2) The distance the
buffer zone extends from that door.

(3) Any available
information concerning where political activity, including sign placement, is
permitted beyond the buffer zone.

(d) Buffer Zone and
Area for Election-Related Activity at One-Stop Sites. - Except as modified in
this subsection, the provisions of this section shall apply to one-stop voting
sites in G.S. 163-227.2.

(1) Subsection (b) of
this section shall not apply.

(2) The notice in
subsection (c) of this section shall be provided no later than 10 days before
the opening of one-stop voting at the site. (2001-460, s. 3; 2003-365, s. 1; 2007-391, s. 13;
2008-187, s. 33(a); 2009-541, s. 22(a).)